Montana State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Helena.

The findings and recommendations of a two-day conference on the civil and human rights of inmates of Montana's correctional institutions are contained in this report. The views of private citizens and experts from local, state, and federal organizations are presented in edited form under seven subject headings: existing prison reform legislation, the role of state government in corrections, corrections philosophy, the history of corrections in Montana, the role of women in corrections, the juvenile offender, and alternatives to traditional concepts of corrections. Key issues were the special needs of female, American Indian, and juvenile offenders and the need for a viable corrections philosophy as a foundation for positive change in Montana's corrections program. Recommendations based on the conference findings include a study to explore alternatives to incarceration, creation of an inmate advocate position, a center to coordinate services to women offenders, and legislation to protect the rights of juvenile offenders. Additional recommendations, in view of the disproportionate number of American Indians in the Montana prison population, are that an American Indian serve on the parole board and that the Department of Institutions, in cooperation with the Indian tribes, hire at least one person especially concerned with alleviation of the cultural and correctional problems of the American Indian offender. (JH)